Chapter 3

“What have I got myself into,” Rose thought as Swanky handed her a black and white referee’s shirt. It was the week of their first practice and Swanky asked her to come in early for a birthday party.

“Do you have a bigger one?” Rose asked.

“Nope,” Swanky said with a shit eating grin on his face. The young man with Rick behind the counter rolled his eyes.

“Grandpa, you know we’ve got one in every size,” he said.

Rick glared at him, “Mikey, you’re ruining it.”

Rose smiled, “If its a show you want,” she said and pulled a referee jersey out of her duffle bag. It was small and stretchy, the back was emblazoned with her derby name, “Queen Black Heart,” and the number 21.

“Allright, allright, allright,” Rick said.

A few minutes later Rose was skating slow laps with big lazy cross overs on the floor with 20 kids all shuffling around. The kids eyes widened as she casually transitioned from forward to back and continued her forward momentum with backward crossovers.

A girl fell to the floor in front of her and Rose leaned forward on her toe and slid to a stop, gracefully spinning forward and reaching down to help the girl up.

“How long have you been skating,” the girl asked as she got back on wobbly feet.

“A long time kid,” Rose smiled. A 13 year old boy came flying around chasing another kid and nearly ran over them.

Rose rolled her eyes and yelled, ‘Hey hot shot calm it down.”

***

“Oh my God, she’s reffing,” Neal said as he followed Tracey in. They both carried big duffle backs of gear.

“You guys are early,” Rose glided to the wall and hugged Tracey.

“Having fun?” Neal asked.

“This is actually great roller derby training, dodging all the kids on the floor,” Rose chuckled.

Tracey smiled, “We’re going to warm up, how many recruits do we have tonight?”

Rose shrugged, “You know how these things are, it takes time to build up again.”

“So no one,” Neal deadpanned.

Tracey placed a hand on his shoulder, “If you build it they will come,” she said.

***

“Trisha are you even listening?”

Sitting in the concession Trisha tore her eyes away from the red head referee and looked at her Mom, Sister, and Brother In-Law with her in the booth.

“Um, sorry, what?” Trisha said.

Her Mom rolled her eyes, “I was just telling Nick that you used to be quite the ice skater back in the day.”

Trisha frowned, ‘Yeah, that was a long time ago,” she said.

Nick smiled, “Why’d you quit Trish?” he asked.

“That’s a sore spot,” Trisha’s sister said.

Trisha smiled, “I really don’t want to talk about it,” she said.

Trisha’s Mom studied Rose and her friends from across the floor and curled her lip, “Different strokes I suppose,” she said to herself.

Nick followed her gaze to Rose and her friends and laughed, then looked back at Trish, “Did you ever roller skate?”

“Sure, most kids do,” Trish replied.

Kate grinned, “She was Queen of the ice rink by day, the roller rink by night in sixth grade,” she said.

Trish huffed, “Kate…”

“So what happened?” Nick asked.

Trish smiled and threw up her hands, “I got fat, OK. That’s what you want to hear?”

Her Mom shook her head, “You were just bigged boned dear.”

“Mom, the other girls said I was going to break the ice when I jumped,” Trish said.

Trisha’s Mom frowned, “Well, you were really quite graceful, and besides, everyone has to grow up. You had to stop skating sometime.”

The happy facade that Trish had been projecting fell away. She turned and looked out on the floor watching giggling kids skate by. She was 24, a registered nurse, a responsible adult, miserable and alone. Six months ago she and her fiance called it off. He needed to go to Montana and find himself.

She watched the red head referee effortlessly glide across the floor and felt a deep longing in her chest. “I had to stop skating?” Trish said turning back to her Mom.

Her Mom frowned. “Well honey, I mean look out there, it’s for kids,” she said.

To emphasize her point, Kate’s daughter rolled up and nearly crashed into their booth. “Mommy, aunty Trish, did you see me skate.”

Kate’s eyes lit up and she leaned down to her daughter, “We sure did honey, you were so good!”

“Are you going to skate with me?” she asked.

“No I’m afraid not dear, Kate said.

“I will,” Trish said.

Her Mom sat up, “Trish, um are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Trish squeezed her way out from the concession stand booth. She’d been big-boned as a teenager, now she was now a bit past that.

“Relax Mom, it’s like riding a bike, you don’t forget.”

Trish made her way over to the skate rental counter and got a pair of skates. She almost changed her mind as sat down on the black and neon carpeted bench and started slipping them on. She stood and took a few wobbly steps and felt muscle memory, long neglected slowly asserting itself.

“You can do this, Trish,” she said as she shuffled out on the floor.

The noise hit her first. Wheels, loud pop music, shouting, the low hum of the floor vibrating up through the skates. Trish stayed near the wall at first, one hand brushing it as she pushed off. Her niece shot past her, laughing, and Trish smiled despite herself.

Okay. Edges, she thought. Just edges.

She took a longer glide, then another. Her feet stopped fighting her and started listening. “Just bend your knees,” she said to herself. Soon she was away from the wall and gliding. It felt amazing. Her quick and sloppy strides were smoothing out. This was easy, something she was good at.

That was when a kid cut directly in front of her.

Trish reacted on instinct, tried to check her speed with a t-stop, and her right foot caught just wrong. Her balance went, sudden and undeniable. She wind milled once, twice, then went down hard on her hip with a sharp thwack that turned a few heads.

She lay there for a second, staring up at the ceiling lights, heat flooding her face.

Of course. Of course this is how it goes.

“Trish!” her mom called from the booth.

“I’m okay,” Trish said quickly, waving one hand. She rolled onto her knees before anyone could come help her. Getting up was slower than she remembered, but she didn’t rush it. She planted her skates, breathed, and stood.

Rose skated up behind her and spun to a stop. “You OK?”

“Yeah, I’ll probably feel that tomorrow,” Trish said. Rose smiled and skated away.

Trish pushed off again. She let herself glide into open space, feeling out the floor. One long stroke, then another. She shifted her weight and carved a shallow curve, clean and controlled. The skates responded immediately.

Her confidence came back in pieces.

She crossed her feet once, tentative but precise. Then again, smoother. She leaned into a wider arc, knees bent, shoulders relaxed, tracing a clean oval through the chaos of wobbling kids. It wasn’t flashy, but it was unmistakably intentional.

Then after several laps she felt her balance returning, she felt stable on one foot.

“You’re pretty good Aunt Trish!” her niece said, rolling up behind her.

Trish smiled and then without thinking she craned her arms out to her sides and pushed off with her right leg allowing it to gracefully lift up behind her. She bent her left knee and tilted her waist forward then glided across the floor.

On the far side of the rink, Rose slowed to a stop.

She watched the woman who had just fallen skate past again, this time looking like a figure skater, a large and powerful figure skater. Rose smiled.

“That’s interesting,” she murmured.

Trish felt eyes on her and almost looked back, then decided not to. She lowered her foot and heard her niece go wild. Another little girl proclaimed her amazing.

Her chest felt tight, but in a good way. Like something waking up.

When the song ended and the rink cleared briefly for the next group of kids, Trish coasted toward the exit, breathing hard and grinning despite herself.

As she stepped off the floor, Rose was there, leaning on the wall.

“You can skate,” Rose said simply.

Trish laughed, a little breathless. “I used to. A long time ago.”

Rose nodded. “Yeah. I can tell.”

She held out a hand. “I’m Rose. Have you ever thought about roller derby?”

Trish blinked at her, caught completely off guard. “Me?”

Rose glanced back at the rink, then back at Trish. “Yeah, I run a team and this is where we practice. We’re the Derby City Angels, and we’re looking for recruits.

Trish felt that deep ache in her chest again.

“You want me?” she asked.

“Yeah, you. What’s your name?” Rose said with a chuckle.

Trish frowned, “I’m Trish. But you notice, I’m not exactly athletic. Sorry, but I don’t think it’s for me.”

Rose smiled, “You looked like an athlete to me. Look Trish, roller derby is a unique sport. Having size in derby is an asset. You’d be awesome. Think about it. Here’s a flyer.” Rose handed her a folded up sheet of paper.

Rose looked at the flyer. Isn’t Roller derby is for like… oddballs? “OK, sure, I’ll think about it.”

“Next week practice starts here at 7:30,” Rose said and skated back onto the floor.

***

The last of the kids was gone, the skates were scattered all over the counter, and Swankies Grandson Mike was locked in at a Star Wars pinball machine. Neal, Trish and Rose were sitting on the neon carpeted benches putting on their gear. Old man swankie came out of his office and slithered over to Mike.

“Allright Kid, make sure they are out of here by 10. Don’t forget to check the doors,s and for Chist sakes get that skate counter organized,” old man Swankie said.

“Sure Uncle, will do.” Mike said without looking up from the game.

Swankie puffed out his chest and walked over to the three skaters, “So this is it? Just the three of yous?” he asked.

Rose smiled, “We’re just starting back up after a long break, we’re going to grow. I’ve got several new recruits coming next week.

Swankie turned around and walked you, yelling over his shoulder, “Sure ladies, and um, gentleman. Have fun and don’t break my floor.”

Neal got up and rolled to the pinball machine to watch Mike play. He was incredibly skilled at the game, manipulating the machine with supple pressure and hitting lit targets at will. The digital screen showed that he had 38 credits racked up.

“Dang, you’re a pinball wizard,” Neal said.

Mike chuckled. “I grew up in this rink, I got plenty of practice time here,” he said.

Rose and Tracey were gathered around watching now. Rose looked to Tracey and smiled. “Do you skate?” she asked.

Mike carried on the conversation without looking up from the glass, “I used to, but got kind of bored of it.”

“Well Mike since you’re stuck with us here anyway, if you want to practice with us, you’d be welcome,” Rose said.

Mike allowed his ball to drop and turned around to look at the small group. They were all wearing helmets, elbow pads, wrist guards and huge knee pads. Rose and Tracey were both wearing tank tops, sports bras and short lycra shorts. They had various colorful tattoos up and down their legs. Neal on the other hand looked to be dressed for PE class with long baggy gym shorts and a baggy T-shirt.

“Umm, are you guys going to skate or go jump off a cliff or something?” he asked.

Rose continued to smile, “It’s a contact sport and we take safety seriously.”

Mike nodded, “Makes sense, but I think you guys might be a bit more hardcore than me.”

Rose nodded, “Well if you change your mind we need skaters.”

Mike nodded and went back to his game. Rose, Neal and Tracey went through some warm ups and some core work. Eventually Mike rolled out onto the floor in skates and did some slow lazy laps before skating up

“Mind if I do some laps?” he asked.

Rose laughed, “It’s your skating rink, but hey, umm. At some point in the future we’re going to need to tape a track onto the floor. Is that going to be a problem?

Mike shrugged, “Will it damage the floor?”

“No it’s just tape, but we can’t tape down a new track every week so we’ll need it to stay,” Rose answered.

Mike smiled, “Allright I’ll try to smooth it over with the old man.”

Mike watched the three of them go through drills, they were all very good skaters, better than him and by the end they were soaked in sweat. Sure he had good basics, he did grow up in a skating rink, but it never really clicked with him. The style of skating that is popular in roller rinks, involves lots of flair, it was a little to much like dancing for him. But what they were doing was interesting, more like a sport as opposed to just rolling around showing off.

At 9:30 the skaters began a cool down routine and Mike rolled in with them. “You guys got extra gear, like those knee pads and a helmet?”

“Yeah I have a huge bin of extra stuff, why do you ask?” Neal said.

Mike put his hands in his pockets, “I don’t know about this derby stuff, but it looks like you guys were getting a good workout. I wouldn’t mind giving it a try next week.”

Neal looked at Rose, who looked back at Tracey, “Mike, welcome to the team,” Rose said.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Mike said while the others laughed.